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This rare film records a civic ceremony for New Zealand troops departing for
the front. It shows the official farewell to the Wellington Section of the NZ
Expeditionary Force on 24 September 1914. The troops are inspected by a group
of dignitaries, including Prime Minister William Massey, Lord Liverpool the
Governor-General and Major General Sir Alexander Godley. They then march four
abreast down Adelaide Road and along Lambton Quay, Wellington’s main shopping
street. The men of the NZEF are
then seen crammed on board the deck and high up on the rigging of a troopship.
Most have happy faces as they await what they expected would be a grand
adventure. Contrast this with the more subdued figures of the 6th Reinforcement
who appear at the end of the film. They are seen departing for the front in
August 1915, when the horrors of the Gallipoli Campaign had become widely
known.